Elon Musk Says It's 'Easy To Keep Yourself Alive' In America—He Lived On $1 A Day Eating Hot Dogs And Peppers, Citing His 'Low Threshold For Existing'

Benzinga12-12 23:01

Easy for him to say. With a net worth near half a trillion dollars, Elon Musk could probably survive on vintage caviar and moon cheese if he wanted to. But according to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX ...

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But according to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.benzinga.com/news/topics/25/12/49362735/elon-musk-says-its-easy-to-keep-yourself-alive-in-america-he-lived-on-1-a-day-eating-hot-dogs-and-peppers-citing-his-low-threshold-for-existing\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"benzinga_hot_news","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Elon Musk Says It's 'Easy To Keep Yourself Alive' In America—He Lived On $1 A Day Eating Hot Dogs And Peppers, Citing His 'Low Threshold For Existing'</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nElon Musk Says It's 'Easy To Keep Yourself Alive' In America—He Lived On $1 A Day Eating Hot Dogs And Peppers, Citing His 'Low Threshold For Existing'\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2025-12-12 23:01 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.benzinga.com/news/topics/25/12/49362735/elon-musk-says-its-easy-to-keep-yourself-alive-in-america-he-lived-on-1-a-day-eating-hot-dogs-and-peppers-citing-his-low-threshold-for-existing><strong>Benzinga</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Easy for him to say. With a net worth near half a trillion dollars, Elon Musk could probably survive on vintage caviar and moon cheese if he wanted to. But according to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.benzinga.com/news/topics/25/12/49362735/elon-musk-says-its-easy-to-keep-yourself-alive-in-america-he-lived-on-1-a-day-eating-hot-dogs-and-peppers-citing-his-low-threshold-for-existing\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"LU1778281490.HKD","symbol_name":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (HKD) INC","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.benzinga.com/news/topics/25/12/49362735/elon-musk-says-its-easy-to-keep-yourself-alive-in-america-he-lived-on-1-a-day-eating-hot-dogs-and-peppers-citing-his-low-threshold-for-existing","article_id":"2591668833","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":["https://cdn.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2025/12/12/Musk-Calls-Trump-Effortlessly-Funny.jpeg?optimize=medium&dpr=2&auto=webp&width=260"],"rights":{"source":"benzinga_hot_news","url":"https://www.benzinga.com/news/topics/25/12/49362735/elon-musk-says-its-easy-to-keep-yourself-alive-in-america-he-lived-on-1-a-day-eating-hot-dogs-and-peppers-citing-his-low-threshold-for-existing","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2591668833","pubTimestamp":1765551660,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"benzinga_hot_news","name":"Benzinga"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Easy for him to say. With a net worth near half a trillion dollars, Elon Musk could probably survive on vintage caviar and moon cheese if he wanted to. But according to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, survival in the U.S. doesn't require much more than a dingy apartment, a computer, and some discount hot dogs.Before becoming the richest man in the world, Musk set out to prove to himself that even if all his grand ventures crashed and burned, he'd still be fine. Literally. In a 2015 interview on StarTalk Radio, he told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, \"In America, it's pretty easy to keep yourself alive…So my threshold for existing is pretty low.\". To test that threshold, Musk challenged himself to live on just $1 a day for food. His grocery list?Hot dogs, oranges, pasta, green peppers, and a big jar of sauce. \"You get really tired of hot dogs and oranges after a while,\" he said, laughing.EnergyX Is Tackling the Next $200 Billion Oppor","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"benzinga.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"LU1778281490.HKD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (HKD) INC","LU2063271972.USD":"富兰克林创新领域基金","SG9999015945.SGD":"LionGlobal Disruptive Innovation Fund A SGD","IE00B1BXHZ80.USD":"Legg Mason ClearBridge - US Appreciation A Acc USD","TSLA":"特斯拉","BK4588":"碎股","BK4550":"红杉资本持仓","LU2360107168.USD":"BGF NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY \"A4\" (USD) INC","LU0345770308.USD":"NINETY ONE GSF GLOBAL STRATEGIC EQUITY \"A\" (USD) ACC","BK4548":"巴美列捷福持仓","LU1066051225.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL EQUITY VOLATILITY FOCUSED \"AC\" (USD) ACC","TSYW.SI":"TESLA 3xLongSG261006","LU0345770993.USD":"NINETY ONE GSF GLOBAL STRATEGIC EQUITY \"A\" (USD) INC","UFO":"Procure Space ETF","LU1232071149.USD":"AZ FUND 1 GLOBAL GROWTH SELECTOR \"AAZ\" (USDHDG) ACC","LU1066053197.SGD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL EQUITY VOLATILITY FOCUSED \"AM3\" (SGDHDG) INC","BK4574":"无人驾驶","BK4598":"佩洛西持仓","IE00BJLML261.HKD":"HSBC GLOBAL EQUITY INDEX \"HCH\" (HKD) ACC","LU1674673691.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (USD) INC","LU1720051017.SGD":"Allianz Global Artificial Intelligence AT Acc H2-SGD","LU2420271590.USD":"ALLIANZ SELECT INCOME AND GROWTH \"AT\" (USD) ACC","LU1914381329.SGD":"Allianz Best Styles Global Equity Cl ET Acc H2-SGD","LU2249611893.SGD":"BNP PARIBAS ENERGY TRANSITION \"CRH\" (SGD) ACC","LU0234570918.USD":"高盛全球核心股票组合Acc Close","LU1267930730.SGD":"富兰克林美国机遇基金AS Acc SGD (CPF)","LU2357305700.SGD":"Allianz Global Artificial Intelligence ET H2-SGD","BK4581":"高盛持仓","LU1839511570.USD":"WELLS FARGO GLOBAL FACTOR ENHANCED EQUITY \"I\" (USD) ACC","SG9999015952.SGD":"LIONGLOBAL DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION \"I\" (SGD) ACC","BK4516":"特朗普概念","BK4543":"AI","LU1366192091.USD":"ALLIANZ US EQUITY PLUS \"AM\" (USD) INC","IE0034235303.USD":"PINEBRIDGE US RESEARCH ENHANCED CORE EQUITY \"A\" (USD) ACC","BK4511":"特斯拉概念","LU1551013342.USD":"Allianz Income and Growth Cl AMg2 DIS USD","BK4585":"ETF&股票定投概念","LU1551013425.SGD":"Allianz Income and Growth Cl AMg2 DIS H2-SGD","LU2471134879.HKD":"INVESCO GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME ADVANTAGE \"A\" (HKD) INC","LU0056508442.USD":"贝莱德世界科技基金A2","BK4555":"新能源车","SG9999015978.USD":"利安颠覆性创新基金A","IE00B19Z8X17.USD":"FTGF CLEARBRIDGE US LARGE CAP GROWTH  \"AG\" (USD) ACC","LU2403377893.USD":"ALLIANZ SELECT INCOME AND GROWTH \"AM\" (USD) INC","IE00B19Z9505.USD":"美盛-美国大盘成长股A Acc","LU2471134523.USD":"INVESCO GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME ADVANTAGE \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU0345769128.USD":"NINETY ONE GSF GLOBAL EQUITY \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU2326559502.SGD":"Natixis Loomis Sayles US Growth Equity P/A SGD-H","LU0234572021.USD":"高盛美国核心股票组合Acc"},"translate_title":"埃隆·马斯克表示，在美国“很容易让自己活下去”——他每天靠吃热狗和辣椒靠1美元生活，理由是他的“生存门槛很低”","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"TSYW.SI":0.6,"UFO":0.6,"TSLA":1.5},"content_text":"Easy for him to say. With a net worth near half a trillion dollars, Elon Musk could probably survive on vintage caviar and moon cheese if he wanted to. But according to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, survival in the U.S. doesn't require much more than a dingy apartment, a computer, and some discount hot dogs.\nBefore becoming the richest man in the world, Musk set out to prove to himself that even if all his grand ventures crashed and burned, he'd still be fine. Literally. In a 2015 interview on StarTalk Radio, he told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, \"In America, it's pretty easy to keep yourself alive… So my threshold for existing is pretty low.\"\nDon't Miss:\nTo test that threshold, Musk challenged himself to live on just $1 a day for food. His grocery list? Hot dogs, oranges, pasta, green peppers, and a big jar of sauce. \"You get really tired of hot dogs and oranges after a while,\" he said, laughing.\nFor perspective, that $1-a-day budget would break down to 33 cents per meal. In today's economy, that won't even buy a slice of bread in many cities. And for the more than 44 million Americans struggling with food insecurity, Musk's self-imposed challenge reads less like resilience and more like a luxury experiment.\nStill, the point wasn't to romanticize struggle—it was a mental exercise. \"If I can live for a dollar a day, then at least from a food cost standpoint… well, it's pretty easy to earn like $30 in a month anyway, so I'll probably be okay,\" he reasoned.\nBack in the mid-1990s, when Musk first tested his $1-a-day survival challenge, grocery prices looked very different. All-beef hot dogs averaged around $2.03 per pound. Today, that same pound of hot dogs runs over $5.20, based on the most recent federal data. That's a 150% jump, making meat a much pricier staple. \nTrending: An EA Co-Founder Shapes This VC Backed Marketplace—Now You Can Invest in Gaming's Next Big Platform\nA loaf of white bread cost under $1 in most stores back then. Now it averages about $1.87—not as dramatic, but still nearly double. Pasta, one of Musk's go-to survival foods, has also crept up. Once 69 to 89 cents per box, it now sells for $1.50 to $2 on average. The numbers show that Musk's \"low threshold for existing\" diet hasn't just aged—it's inflated.\nBut the frugality didn't end when the money started rolling in.\nIn 2022, Musk's ex-partner Claire Boucher, known as Grimes, told Vanity Fair in 2022 that his bare-bones lifestyle continued well into his billionaire years. One time, when their mattress had a hole on her side, Musk refused to buy a new one—he told her to bring the spare from another house instead.\nGrimes said their shared $40,000 rental had no security, curious neighbors peeking through the windows, and so little food that she once resorted to eating peanut butter for eight days straight. \"Bro does not live like a billionaire,\" she said. \"Bro lives at times below the poverty line.\"\nSee Also: Missed Tesla? EnergyX Is Tackling the Next $200 Billion Opportunity — Lithium\nAnd maybe that's the throughline: for Musk, discomfort was never a dealbreaker. He didn't need luxury to function—just a mission and a floor to sleep on. \"I figure I could be in some dingy apartment with my computer and be okay and not starve,\" he said.\nBut for millions of Americans who aren't CEOs, who don't have degrees from Penn or connections in Silicon Valley, the idea that survival is \"easy\" sounds less motivational and more disconnected.\nStill, there's something revealing in Musk's framing. Whether it's rockets, EVs, or peanut butter on repeat, he's always betting that discomfort is temporary—and that survival, no matter how barebones, is just the first step to something bigger.\nRead Next: Forget Flipping Houses—This Fund Lets You Invest in Home Equity Like Wall Street Does\nImage: Imagn","kind":"news","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.35.11","shortVersion":"4.35.11","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2591668833","isCrawlerRequest":true}